In-situ conservation, the conservation of
species in their natural habitats, is considered the
most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity.

Conserving the areas where populations of
species exist naturally is an underlying condition for
the conservation of biodiversity. That's why protected
areas form a central element of any national strategy to
conserve biodiversity.

Ex Situ
Conservation Methods

Ex-situ conservation is the preservation
of components of biological diversity outside their
natural habitats. This involves conservation of genetic
resources, as well as wild and cultivated or species,
and draws on a diverse body of techniques and
facilities. Some of these include:

Gene banks, e.g. seed banks, sperm
and ova banks, field banks;

In vitro plant tissue and microbial
culture collections;

Captive breeding of animals and
artificial propagation of plants, with possible
reintroduction into the wild; and

Collecting living organisms for zoos,
aquaria, and botanic gardens for research and public
awareness.

Ex-situ
conservation measures can be complementary to in-situ
methods as they provide
an "insurance policy" against extinction. These measures
also have a valuable role to play in recovery programmes
for endangered species. The Kew Seed Bank in England
has 1.5 per cent of the world's flora - about 4,000
species - on deposit.

Ex-situ conservation provides excellent
research opportunities on the components of biological
diversity. Some of these institutions also play a
central role in public education and awareness raising
by bringing members of the public into contact with
plants and animals they may not normally come in contact
with. It is estimated that worldwide, over 600 million
people visit zoos every year.

A protected area is a geographically
defined area that is designated or regulated and managed
to achieve specific conservation objectives. It may be
set aside for the protection of biological diversity,
and of natural and associated cultural resources and is
managed through legal or other effective means.

This includes national parks and nature
reserves, sustainable use reserves, wilderness areas and
heritage sites

Protected areas (Pas) have been widely
used as a conservation tool in order to maintain a
representative sample of unaltered species and
eco-systems for the future, and to limit the potential
for environmental degradation through human
mismanagement of resources.

At present, approximately 8,500 PAs exist
throughout the world in 169 countries. This covers
about 750 million hectares of marine and terrestrial
ecosystems, which amounts to 5.2 % of the Earth’s land
surface.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has a
key role in promoting the establishment of protected
areas throughout the world. Since 1948, IUCN has
developed standards and guidelines for PA management.
Protected areas have been established following the
categories defined by the IUCN.

(It should be noted that strict
protection categories (categories I – III) have mostly
been applied in the developing countries, whereas
categories V and VI are the most commonly used in the
developed world).

Category II
Ecosystem Conservation and Tourism. Sometimes called
national parks. Generally larger areas with a range of
outstanding features and ecosystems that people may
visit for education, recreation, and inspiration as long
as they do not threaten the area's values.

Category III
Conservation of Natural Features. Sometimes called
natural monuments. Similar to National Parks, but
usually smaller areas protecting a single spectacular
natural feature or historic site.

In the past, it was assumed that the best
way to preserve biodiversity was to conserve it through
protected areas by reducing human activities or
completely excluding humans. Population growth and
poverty were seen as main causes of environmental
degradation; people were regarded as a problem from
which the environment needed protecting. Accordingly,
protected areas and parks were fenced off from local
people, traditional practices were prohibited, and
people were held under penalties of fines or
imprisonments for utilising
park resources. However, there are very controversial
scientific and social problems with this approach, which
was characterized by serious conflicts between local
communities and the state.

This therefore led to a transformation in
thinking and the recognition that:

1. Local people understand their
environment and have extensive knowledge of the
resources within their local environment

2. The exclusion of local people
from protected areas may actually lead to impoverishment
of their biological diversity, with both ecological and
social costs

3. Traditional practices enable
people to live with nature in a mutually beneficial
way. For example, instead of banning hunting
altogether, a series of regulations could be put in
place to regulate hunting, i.e., prohibitions on killing
juveniles, or pregnant females

4. Many communities still do not see
wildlife and the environment as their own property
because they are not involved in decision-making and
have little responsibility in conservation projects

5. Revenues earned from PAs have not
always been passed on to communities

PA management has taken on a more
holistic approach to assessing biodiversity and
environmental protection - it has to be effective in
linking conservation with human needs. PA management
must take into account the local people’s realities,
that is, policy formulation must be based on a more
realistic understanding of the social and political
dimensions of natural resources management. 2

Protected Areas
in Jamaica

I. The Blue and John
Crow Mountains National Park

II. The Montego Bay
Marine Park

In 1990, Blue and John Crow Mountains
National Park was declared Jamaica’s first terrestrial
national park. Located on the eastern end of the island,
it protects one third of the approximately 30 percent of
Jamaica that is still under natural forest cover. 3

The park, which measures 58 km by 19 km,
contains the largest area of natural forest remaining in
Jamaica, and is high in biodiversity – it has one of the
highest levels of endemism in the Western Hemisphere.
4

· About 40 % of the plants and
animals found there are endemic to Jamaica, or are found
only in the Park’s ecosystems.

· In the Blue Mountain region, of
240 species of higher plants, 47 percent are endemic.
In the John Crow Mountains, 32 percent of the 278
species of flowering plants are endemic. 4

· It is home to the Giant
Swallowtail Butterfly (an endemic species that is the
second largest butterfly in the world).A few of the more widely recognized
endemic animals are the Jamaican Tody, the Jamaican
Blackbird and a suite of local hummingbirds, the Jamaica
Hutia (Coney), the Jamaican Boa (yellow snake) and many
species of tree frogs. 3